Adjacent Words

Worst definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WORST, a. [superl. of worse, which see.]
1. Most bad; most evil; in a moral sense; as the worst man; the worst sinner.
2. Most severe or dangerous; most difficult to heal; as the worst disease.
3. Most afflictive, pernicious or calamitous; as the worst evil that can befall a state or an individual.
WORST, n.
1. The most evil state; in a moral sense.
2. The most severe or aggravated state; the highth; as, the disease is at the worst.
3. The most calamitous state. Be armed against the worst.
WORST, v.t. To get the advantage over in contest; to defeat; to overthrow. It is madness to contend, when we are sure to be worsted.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: (superlative of `bad') most wanting in quality or value or condition; "the worst player on the team"; "the worst weather of the year" [ant: best] n
1: the least favorable outcome; "the worst that could happen"
2: the greatest damage or wickedness of which one is capable; "the invaders did their worst"; "so pure of heart that his worst is another man's best"
3: the weakest effort or poorest achievement one is capable of; "it was the worst he had ever done on a test" [ant: best] v
1: defeat thoroughly; "He mopped up the floor with his opponents" [syn: worst, pip, mop up, whip, rack up] adv
1: to the highest degree of inferiority or badness; "She suffered worst of all"; "schools were the worst hit by government spending cuts"; "the worst dressed person present"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective, superlative of bad or of ill Etymology: Middle English werste, worste, from Old English wierresta, wyrsta, superlative of the root of Old English wiersa worse Date: before 12th century 1. most corrupt, bad, evil, or ill <his worst fault> 2. a. most unfavorable, difficult, unpleasant, or painful <the worst news> <your worst enemy> b. most unsuitable, faulty, unattractive, or ill-conceived <has the worst table manners> c. least skillful or efficient <the worst person for the job> 3. most wanting in quality, value, or condition <the worst results> II. adverb, superlative of ill or illy or of bad or badly Date: before 12th century 1. to the extreme degree of badness or inferiority <the worst dressed person> 2. to the greatest or highest degree <groups who need the subsidies worst lose out — T. W. Arnold> III. noun (plural worst) Date: 13th century one that is worst IV. transitive verb Date: 1636 to get the better of ; defeat

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., adv., n., & v. --adj. most bad. --adv. most badly. --n. the worst part, event, circumstance, or possibility (the worst of the storm is over; prepare for the worst). --v.tr. get the better of; defeat, outdo. Phrases and idioms: at its etc. worst in the worst state. at worst (or the worst) in the worst possible case. do your worst an expression of defiance. get (or have) the worst of it be defeated. if the worst comes to the worst if the worst happens. Etymology: OE wierresta, wyrresta (adj.), wyrst, wyrrest (adv.), f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Worst Worst, a., superl. of Bad. [OE. werst, worste, wurste, AS. wyrst, wierst, wierrest. See Worse, a.] Bad, evil, or pernicious, in the highest degree, whether in a physical or moral sense. See Worse. ``Heard so oft in worst extremes.'' --Milton. I have a wife, the worst that may be. --Chaucer. If thou hadst not been born the worst of men, Thou hadst been a knave and flatterer. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Worst Worst, n. That which is most bad or evil; the most severe, pernicious, calamitous, or wicked state or degree. The worst is not So long as we can say, This is the worst. --Shak. He is always sure of finding diversion when the worst comes to the worst. --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Worst Worst, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Worsted; p. pr. & vb. n. Worsting.] [See Worse, v. t. & a.] To gain advantage over, in contest or competition; to get the better of; to defeat; to overthrow; to discomfit. The . . . Philistines were worsted by the captivated ark. --South.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Worst Worst, v. i. To grow worse; to deteriorate. [R.] ``Every face . . . worsting.'' --Jane Austen.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bad Bad (b[a^]d), a. [Compar. Worse; superl. Worst. ] [Probably fr. AS. b[ae]ddel hermaphrodite; cf. b[ae]dling effeminate fellow.] Wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; -- the opposite of good; as, a bad man; bad conduct; bad habits; bad soil; bad health; bad crop; bad news. Note: Sometimes used substantively. The strong antipathy of good to bad. --Pope. Syn: Pernicious; deleterious; noxious; baneful; injurious; hurtful; evil; vile; wretched; corrupt; wicked; vicious; imperfect.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Worst is the superlative of bad. 2. Worst is the superlative of badly. 3. The worst is the most unpleasant or unfavourable thing that could happen or does happen. Though mine safety has much improved, miners' families still fear the worst... The country had come through the worst of the recession. ? best N-SING: the N, oft N of n 4. Worst is used to form the superlative of compound adjectives beginning with 'bad' and 'badly'. For example, the superlative of 'badly-affected' is 'worst-affected'. 5. You say worst of all to indicate that what you are about to mention is the most unpleasant or has the most disadvantages out of all the things you are mentioning. The people most closely affected are the passengers who were injured and, worst of all, those who lost relatives. PHRASE: PHR with cl 6. You use at worst or at the worst to indicate that you are mentioning the worst thing that might happen in a situation. At best Nella would be an invalid; at worst she would die... PHRASE: PHR with cl/group 7. When someone is at their worst, they are as unpleasant, bad, or unsuccessful as it is possible for them to be. This was their mother at her worst. Her voice was strident, she was ready to be angry at anyone. PHRASE: n PHR, PHR after v, v-link PHR 8. You use if the worst comes to the worst to say what you might do if a situation develops in the most unfavourable way possible. The form if worst comes to worst is also used, mainly in American English. If the worst comes to the worst I guess I can always ring Jean... He was asked whether he would walk out if the worst came to the worst. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with cl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Defeat, conquer, foil, overcome, overpower, overthrow, subdue, subjugate, vanquish, beat, rout, discomfit, crush, choke, quell, master, get the better of, put down.

Moby Thesaurus

abominable, arrant, atrocious, awful, base, bear the palm, beastly, beat, beat all hollow, beat hollow, beneath contempt, best, blameworthy, brutal, clobber, contemptible, defeat, deplorable, despicable, destroy, detestable, dire, disgusting, do in, down, dreadful, drub, egregious, enormous, fetid, filthy, fix, flagrant, foul, fulsome, grievous, gross, hateful, heinous, hide, horrible, horrid, hors de combat, infamous, lambaste, lamentable, lather, lick, loathsome, lousy, monstrous, nasty, nefarious, noisome, notorious, obnoxious, odious, offensive, outclass, outdo, outfight, outgeneral, outmaneuver, outpoint, outrageous, outrun, outsail, outshine, pip, pitiable, pitiful, put, rank, regrettable, reprehensible, repulsive, rotten, ruin, sad, scandalous, schlock, scurvy, settle, shabby, shameful, shocking, shoddy, skin, skin alive, sordid, squalid, take the cake, terrible, thrash, too bad, trim, triumph, triumph over, trounce, unclean, undo, vile, villainous, whip, win, woeful, worthless, wretched